St. Peter's College not taking FDU lightly

David Jolkovski/The Jersey JournalSt. Peter's College men's basketball coach John Dunne during a recent Peacocks practice.

The St. Peter’s College men's basketball team will make a short drive up the New Jersey Turnpike to Teaneck on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. to take on Northeast Conference member Fairleigh Dickinson University.

FDU comes in to the game at 1-10. The won-lost record may be a bit misleading. Their schedule has included a stretch of four games within a five-day period with only two of their first 11 games being played at home, where they are 1-1. Their lone victory was against Central Michigan by a score of 62-53.

St. Peter’s and FDU have shared one common opponent this season in Lafayette College. SPC squeaked past Lafayette by 2 points in Easton, Penn., while FDU lost by 16. Fairleigh’s roster is dominated by upperclassmen and they can play either big or small. They will likely play a 2-3 zone against the Peacocks. They are led by 6’3” senior guard Sean Baptiste.

One of the FDU losses was to Villanova by 23 points. Villanova coach Jay Wright was very complimentary about their effort and preparedness.

If you are an FDU fan, you have to be thinking SPC can be had after their woeful performances against NJIT and Wagner.

The Peacocks have been anything but consistent so far this season. Some games they looked as if they could be MAAC conference contenders and in others they looked as if they might not win another game this season. Which team will show up on Saturday night is anyone’s guess.

I had a chance to speak with SPC Coach John Dunne during the week to get his perspective regarding the team’s performance through the first nine games this season. Dunne was both frustrated and determined. He indicated that at this time, he felt that his team was not as good as it looked against Seton Hall or Monmouth nor as bad as it looked against NJIT and Wagner. It was someplace in the middle of those performances.

He felt that his team is not where they wanted or expected to be and that there was definitely room for improvement. How his team played seemed to be every bit if not more important than the 4-5 won-lost record. From that conversation I gathered that he felt that if SPC plays well, the record will take care of itself.

Besides the obvious poor shooting against Wagner, Dunne was fixated on two areas during our conversation: turnovers and shot selection. As he described it, 18 turnovers and 10 bad shots results in almost 30 wasted possessions a game. It would be challenging to beat any college basketball team under those conditions. If you compound those wasted possessions with poor shooting when you have open looks, the results will be very disappointing.

As a fan, my inclination is to assign blame and try to identify which team members or coaches are responsible for the recent shoddy play. Since in my opinion I don’t believe Dunne is the problem, I tried to press him about certain player performances. He would not entertain that type of discussion.

While these are not his exact words, this is what I interpreted based on our conversation.

Separating his own and assistant coaches’ performance, when he evaluates the players part of the team, he breaks them into two groups, returning players, and newcomers. Is each group playing up to expectations? Are the returning players playing at least as well, if not better than last year? Are the new players making a contribution and complimenting the returning players?

Coach Dunne would not reveal his thoughts or feelings about either group, but it was interesting to hear that that is one of the filters he uses in his evaluation process.

So when I look at each group, I would have to say that in my opinion, the returning group has not played as well or better than they did the second half of last season. And while the newcomers have not all lived up to expectation, I can’t deny their contributions. The new kids have played pretty well and they will get better.

When I listened closely to what Coach Dunne was looking for from his players, I would say that defense and protecting the ball were at the top of his list and that if you could do those two things well, you were probably going to get your minutes.

Starting Peacock center Ryan Bacon’s status remains questionable for the FDU game because of an ankle sprain. His absence against Wagner was one of the reasons for the team’s defeat.

With more potential scorers on the floor this season, Bacon’s touches in positions where he can score have gone down considerably. But his leadership, energy, work on the boards, and shot blocking are key ingredients to the team’s success. His potential absence against FDU leaves a big hole in the SPC line-up.

When I asked Coach Dunne which front court player might he consider to replace Bacon in the starting line-up if necessary, he indicated that it would be based on who practiced the best and which player brought the most energy to the floor.

With the exception of Bacon, the team is relatively healthy. Sophomore guard Brandon Hall might have some minor issues with his surgically repaired knee and junior forward Jordan Costner, who had arm and neck problems earlier this season and has had only two and a half weeks of practice time, continues to make progress.

Like SPC, FDU has had several different starting line-ups as they search for better chemistry.

The Peacocks will have their hands full on Saturday night. But one thing I know for sure. SPC will not take FDU lightly.